Pin Me Down
by Thorkiful
Summary: Darren challenges a drunk Crepsley to a wrestling match and learns not to underestimate his teacher. DarrenXCrepsley
1. Chapter 1

Pin Me Down

Sitting on the damp grass, I turned the page of the book in my lap. I strained to see the print in the dim moonlight. A yellow hue of light fell across my page as the flap of a tent opened. The sounds of laughter and shouting emerged from inside. The final show before we moved on was complete and Evra had appeared with beer. Not being to keen on seeing my previous meal again, I was sitting this one out.

Mr. Crepsly staggered drunkenly out of the tent. Catching sight of me, he grinned and stumbled over to where I sat.

"Hurlo little boy" he slurred.

Folding over the page, I placed the book down and glanced up at intoxicated mentor.

"Drunk fool", I sneered. As I pulled myself up from the ground, I stealthily kicked out. My foot connected with his shin and he crumbled to the ground, his back pressed against the grassy, dry dirt.

"You really are hopeless in this condition, aren't you?"' I teased, "One measly kick knocked you to your knees".

Growling, Mr. Creplsy pushed himself upright. Smiling,he slowly said, "You, Darren Shan, think you can better me? The fierce, agile and swift Larten Crepsly."

With no sense of doubt in my head, I replied vigorously"

I do".

"Name your game boy".

With the alcohol pumping through his blood stream, I knew his balance would be compromised. He sat, staring patiently up at me, as I uttered the word "Wrestling".

His eyebrows rose slightly, and with his hand clamped firmly around my wrist, jumped up. Moving five strides away from me, he smoothly removed his cape and dark red shirt. The sides of his mouth curled in anticipation. Following suite I slipped off my frayed t-shirt and faced him.

Mr. Crepsly moved first, darting forward and catching hold of my left shoulder. I spun around and ducked under his muscled arm, barely dodging his fist. Flinging my arm down his back, I grabbed his wrist and jerked it upwards. Snarling aggressively, he dug his head into my collarbone, accidentally puncturing the skin with his teeth. My grip slackened and he

yanked his arm free. I slammed my knuckles into his hard stomach. He staggered backwards and bent double. The sweet scent of victory washed through me as I stalked towards his unprotected back. I knew I had this fight in the bag. I wrung my arms around his neck. A pulse bet steadily against the palm of my hand. Brushing his orange hair aside, I clutched the side of his face, and cockily whispered,

"Not so fierce now, eh?".

Mr. Crepsly grunted, snatched both of my arms, and threw me effortlessly over his head.

"Thump". My bruised body collided with the hard, dusty ground. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs. Groaning, I assessed the damage. My left wrist was defiantly fractured, due to the dull throbbing radiating up my arm. Bruises were scattered around my body and my exposed neck felt wet. My hand moved to investigate, but was stopped short by Mr. Crepsly's steel like grip, pinning my arms to my side. Straddling me, I felt his thighs lock my shaking legs together. Releasing his grip on my arms and placing strong hands on my bare shoulders, he lowered his chest, inches away from mine. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. The pale skin wrapped around his ribs elegantly. Moving my gaze south towards his flat stomach, I watched his abs tense and relax. My breathing froze when his hand clutched my jaw, raising it upwards. Our eyes locked. His hot breath brushed against my skin. His iron hold on my body made struggling futile and we both realised this. Leaning too close for comfort, he hoarsely whispered, "Do you submit?".

"Please L...larten", I pleaded, waiting for him to inflict the punishment for losing. He thread his fingers through my hair, and instinctively I began to fight his hold. A growl erupted from his throat and turning my gaze to anywhere but him, he planted his lips upon mine. The pressure increased rapidly, but I remained motionless in shock. His mouth opened slightly and the taste of sweet whiskey smothered my senses. Breaking away with reluctance, he softly placed his lips along my jaw. Shimmying down my immobile body, he clutched my hips. A burning tongue traced my abdomen. I shivered. Glancing up at my still frame, a pang of self-disgust flooded his eyes. Biting his lip, he swore under his breath, and raised himself off me. Sudden compulsion returned control to my limbs and jerking up, I wrapped my arms around his neck. Thrusting my mouth against his, I curled my fingers into his soft, orange hair. Laying me down onto my back, hands on either side of my head, he nudged my mouth open. His tongue lightly traced my teeth. Groaning, I clawed his muscled back. Sealing the kiss, enclosed his rough hands around mine and brought them up to my head.

"Darren...", he muttered and smiled sadly.

"I won't breath a word to anyone", I promised as he stumbled into his tent. Except Evra, I thought to myself, grinning mischievously.


	2. Chapter 2

I lay on the ground, my blood pumping furiously as I tried to comprehend what had just happened. My body ached but all I could feel was the warmth that lingered from where his body had grazed mine. The skin of my jaw tingled. I was overcome by the memory of his supple lips brushing gently over... STOP. I shouldn't. I mustn't. I knew it wasn't right. Mr Crepsley was my teacher, my mentor. This incident itself blindly broke an unimaginable amount of rules.  
'Darren", a voice called.  
Mr Tall towered over me. His eyes gave me a once over. If he was confused by what he saw, he hid it well as his expression remained emotionless. Offering me a gloved hand, he pulled me upwards. I swayed slightly, taking a step back as black dots flooded my vision.  
"Are you alright?", he asked, steadying me.  
"I'm just a little tired", I apologized shakily. Brushing the hair from my face, my wrist twisted. "Ahh", I exclaimed.  
"Sort yourself out", rolling his eyes he said, "We're leaving in two hours".

"EVRA!", I shouted, short of breath as I burst into my closest friend's tent.

"Darren, oh my god...", Evra gasped as he took in my bruised body, ruffled hair and the punctured holes near the nape of my neck. "What happened", he exclaimed, tenderly examining my wrist.

"Never mind that, I need to tell you something. Ow!".

"Defiantly broken.",

"Evra I HAVE to say something", I snapped, pulling my wrist away from his probing. Raising his eyebrows, Evra trust me onto his hammock and slinking down to eye level he hissed.

"Master Ssshan, don't make me do this the hard way", his slitted pupils narrowed threateningly. I held my tongue as his scaled hands applied foul looking mixtures to my skin and gracefully splinted my wrist. As they rose to my neck, gently prodding the holes, he announced,

"I can't do much about these... um marks. Hopefully they'll fade on their own". Picking up a metal fork Evra began to chew it.

"He kissed me", I muttered, my eyes glued to the floor.

"Huh?", he replied, lost in thought.

"Mr Crepsley, he pinned me down and kissed me".

The fork clattered to the ground.

"HE WHAT?!", Evra choked, his mouth widened in shock.

Glancing up, I met his bewildered eyes and blushed.


	3. Chapter 3

The cirque as it did and always will, moved on. I could hear the steady rumble of the ground crunching beneath wheels as I lay on a mattress. Evra breathed deeply in his sleep, his snake wound round his ankles, and rolled over onto his scaly stomach. My mind wouldn't calm and the possibility of sleep drifted farther and farther away from my grasp. I gazed fondly over at my friend. He bore no judgment on what I had confessed. On the contrary, he found the whole situation quite _romantic. _Ugh.

I rose silently from the mattress and left the compartment. A metal walkway joined all the trucks and trailers together, allowing easy access, or in my case, night time strolls. The chances of bumping into someone was slim. My footsteps echoed off the metal grates as I paced in the brisk, night air.

A cold breeze danced across my skin and I wrapped my bare arms around me, shivering. My eyelids burned, strands of dark hair drifted across my vision. I shut my eyes. I felt another's watching me. I opened them just in time to witness dark red fabric withdrawing around a corner. Darting forward, I swung around the corner and called,

"Mr. Creps...", the words caught in my mouth as I stared down at the dusty road. Slumping down on the last grate, I hugged my legs, laying my forehead against my knees and tried to ignore the tight feeling in throat. Screw him, I screamed in my head. Between the rage and rejection I was feeling, I never noticed I was wearing a black shirt of his.

We arrived in the small town of Oakhill in the late evening. With our opening night only two days away, there was no time to be idle. Evra and I were assigned with putting up tents, a seemingly simple task, but to no one's surprise we had yet to successfully assemble even one.

"I think this pole thing is supposed to go through that hole", Evra muttered hesitantly, examining a metal rod suspiciously.

"Are you blind AND stupid?", I protested, "It obviously fits through this slit", grabbing the creased tent fabric. I attempted to force the pole through a slot in the material. Riiiippp.

"Idiot", Evra giggled, throwing the fabric in my face. Retaliating, I launched a fistful of grass at his grinning face.

"Boys...", Mr Tall began. I smothered a laugh and tried to look serious. Eying strands of grass sticking out of Evra's hair, I doubled over, snickering and shrieking.

"If you cannot manage to set up even the _simplest_ of tents, I am sure we could find something more suitable", Mr Tall ordered. "Evra, grab a bucket and towel, the trucks need washing".

Grumbling, Evra set off sulkily.

"I'd better be able to see my beautiful reflection", Mr Tall called after him. "Now Darren, What splendid job can we conjure up for you". Turning around suddenly, he announced, "Larten, superb timing, Darren here will assist you with handing out flyers tonight.

Gazing down at me for a moment, Mr Crepsley addressed Mr Tall and said curtly, "I do not wish for Darren to join me". Without even looking at me, he strode away.

"Go help Evra", Mr Tall murmured, quickly following Mr Crepsley's retreating figure.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 5

"Dammit!", I growled, slamming my palms against the truck body.

"Woah, I just washed there", Evra jested. His sleeves were damp and his stood in a murky puddle of bubbles. I snatched a torn sponge and scrubbed furiously at the paint work. My nails dug into the metal, tearing them away, four deep grooves appeared. Evra watched soundlessly. Throwing the sponge to the ground, I swung out at the metal bucket. Water sloshed out of all sides. Trudging over to where it landed, I slammed my foot down and the metal collapsed and clenched around my shoe. Closing my stinging eyes, I took a deep breathe and said,

"I have to perform with hi..m tomorrow night".

The lights dimmed and the curtains drew back.

"Ladies and Gentleman", a voiced drawled, "Welcome to Cirque Du Freak".

Sitting on a over-turned bucket, I plucked anxiously at my costume. Acts flew by, I watched each one from the corner of the curtain. Time really does fly when you're sick to the pit of your stomach with anxiety. More than once I stood up and almost sprinted out the back entrance. If I was dreading this performance to this degree I can't even begin to phantom how Mr Crepsley felt about it. I realized my eyes were blinking furiously.

"We kindly advise the faint hearted to leave now, our final act is not for the cowardly or gutless or those with ARACHNOPHOBIA!". Jumping up, I wiped my clammy palms on my trousers.

"Okay I can do this", I told myself, "We don't even have to talk to each other, I only have to blow the whis...". The sight of Mr Crepsley stopped me in my track. Darkness shrouded his slim frame which was unusually dressed in a black, webbed suit. His head was bowed, strands of orange hair swayed gentily against his pale skin. His eyes were closed, otherwise he would have known I was standing there, staring open-mouthed at his figure.

"Let's give a warm welcome to LARTEN CREPSLEY".

His head snapped up as the spotlights flooded down on him. I strode forward, keeping my eyes on the audience. I forced myself to smile as I watched the audience's expressions turn to horror as Madame Octa was revealed. Placing the whistle on my lips, I began to blow softly. She nudged open the cage door and crawled out. Mr Crepsley willed her to ascend up his arm, her furry legs pulled at the black silk of his shirt. When she reached his shoulder, she chewed playfully at his collar then bounced gracefully onto his head. The spider lowered herself onto his nose and Mr Crepsley opened his mouth wide. Crisscrossing from lip to lip, strands of silverly web weaved across his mouth. From here I could see his tongue poking delicately at the web. I admired his self restrain, not once had he flinched during the performance so far. Madame Octa spiraled downwards on a lone strand. My eyebrow raised in confusion. Stopping at his chest, she took the fabric into her fanged mouth and began to unbutton his shirt. Transfixed, I couldn't tear my gaze away. My breathe grew heavier as each button was freed. Madame Octa nudged the final button open and Mr Crepsley seductively shook the shirt off his body. I barely registered the wolf whistles that were emitted by the audience. Madame Octa returned to his shoulder. Crouching down, he turned his back to me, I gasped and felt my face flush a deep red as I recognized the nail marks etched upon his smooth skin. The whistle dropped from my mouth.

Shit.

Mr Crepsley's back stiffened and his head turned slowly around to face me. I stood motionless, meeting his gaze and watched as his eyes widened in fear. The web enclosing his mouth tore as he started to say something but the words were cut off by a shrill whistling. Mr Tall had saved the day. Swiftly recovering, Mr Crepsley returned to the act and I saw Mr Tall motion me to pick up the whistle. My mind was blank and I was suddenly aware of everyones attention on me. Backing away slowly, I moved towards the audience. Picking up the pace, I muttered,

"Sorry, S'cuse me, Move!", as I pushed through the throngs of people. I felt my pulse pound and I struggled to breathe. Ripping back the curtain, I stumbled through the entrance, sobbing uncontrollably.


	5. Chapter 5

Blurry eyed I slumped down against Mr Tall's caravan. I'm such an inconvenience to the Cirque, the least I could do was hide somewhere obvious. The severity of the situation began to hit me. I had blindly run off stage in the middle of a performance. The last performance of the night.

"I could be kicked out of the Cirque", I gasped.

High pitched giggling came from around the corner. A group of teenage girls wearing extremely revealing, skimpy outfits (no complaining from me) came into view. The laughter ceased when they caught sight of me. I stood awkwardly as they eyed me up, letting out a sigh of relief when I could see they were impressed. The aggravating giggling surfaced again as they pushed a blonde girl forward. Her crimped hair was tipped with hot pink dye. Glancing at her low cut top, I raised my eyebrow suggestively.

"Hey circus freak, hiding an extra hand under that t-shirt or summtin?", she jeered, moving right against me.

Grabbing her hips I whispered,

"I'm not a performer". Admittedly at that moment it honestly felt closer to the truth.

Placing her soft hands up my worn shirt, she looked longingly at my lips.

"Pity, I like a guy who can entertain". Then pressed her mouth against mine. I let her take charge for about 30 seconds, then broke away and gasped breathlessly,

""I could show you a couple of tricks that I have up my sleeve".

Pulling open the handle of the caravan door, we slipped clumsily inside, our bodies never separating. I felt my back press against a wardrobe as she ran her hands up my chest.

Pressing her tongue against the back of my throat, she began to hike up my top. The pit of my stomach churned and a feeling of queasiness rolled over me.

"Sorry, look... can you stop", I muttered, trying to pull my t-shirt back on. Bang. The trailer door was wretched open.

"Hibernus I need to tell yo...", exclaimed Mr Crepsley desperately. He stopped short at the sight of us.

His eyebrows crinkled in confusion. His hand flew to his stubbled mouth in recognition. Brows turned down, he glared at me with acidic hatred. Barely able to contain his rage, the wooden counter splintered beneath his iron grip. Placing myself in front of the girl, effectively shielding her,

"Sir," I said softly, " I...".

"Save it", he sneered.

He turned swiftly and slammed the door behind him.

"Who was that creep", she sniggered.

"Shut your face", I spat, pushing her away from me, and stumbled out of the caravan. It was truly remarkable how I always managed to turn a bad situation into a terrible one.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 7

My feet pounded off the dirt as I sprinted towards the old barn in which Mr Crepsley resided. The disgust on his face was burned into my vision. Never had I let him down this badly, not even that time I snuck out during daylight to go back to my family. He was disappointed with me at the time and wouldn't speak to me for a whole week. After the silent treatment, he didn't hold it against me. I never told him how much I appreciated that. Judging by this evenings events, I would've bet I would never get the chance. I'd be gone by the following morning, I don't think I could hold myself together if I was formally kicked out. Really I was doing everyone a favour by leaving, the Cirque only needs the strongest performers and it's not like Mr Crepsley would even consider taking me back after-. My train of thought halted as the barn doors came into sight. I ran my hands along the rough wood, hesitating.

"It's now or never", I thought to myself. Pushing the door open, I crept softly in.

Mr Crepsley was sat, slumped in a old, oak chair facing the doors. A single glowing candle threw half his face into jerky shadows. His eyes were closed tight and his hands gripped the armrests rigidly. I took a step forward.

"I thought that was locked", he muttered.

"I'm sorr...y", I stammered.

His eyes remained shut.

"I just felt so lonely an-", I couldn't finish.

Silence.

I waited for him to say something. I wanted him to shout, get angry, show any kind of emotion. He gave me nothing.

"LOOK AT ME LARTEN", I screamed. My fists clenched and my chest rose and fell rapidly with my quickening breath.

His eyes opened and raked up my body.

"Look at... you?", he said slowly, "Look at what you did. You abandoned me mid-performance, fled from the stage, to put in simply. No warning nor hint of your intentions."

"I-", I began.

"Do not speak", he cut me off and continued reprimanding me.

Leaning against his coffin, I hung my head in shame.

"All I ask is for you to tell me why. Why did you run off?", Mr Crepsley sighed.

"The marks", I mumbled.

"Excuse me?".

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. Chewing nervously on my bottom lip, I blurted,

"The scratch marks on your back. The ones I made when we..."

"Darren I-"

"It took me by surprise, and I... don't know what came over me". My face was burning with embarrassment. I stared, transfixed at my feet.

"Darren", Mr Crepsley touched my arm. "I wanted to apologise for my behaviour in the clearing. I took advantage of you, something I never wished to do. And if you want to report me to Mr. Tall, I accept the consequences of what I've done."

"Do you regret kissing me?", I said looking up, unable to keep the hurt out of my voice.

"No", he admitted.

Holding his gaze I shakily unbuttoned my shirt. He raised his eyebrow questionably. The shirt fell to the ground. Adverting his eyes away from my chest, he looked elsewhere. Moving against him, I touched his cheek. "Look at me", I whispered. He complied. Placing his hands on the small of my back, he pulled me closer. My skin tingled under his palms as I pressed myself against his body. Lowering his mouth to my ear he said,

"Are you sure?"

Enclosing my hands around his, I moved them lower down.

"Do with me as you will", I groaned.

Hooking my legs around his waist, he lifted me up and pressed me against his coffin. I placed my hands on his shoulders. His skin felt hot under mine. He rubbed my chest and I moaned as his fingertips grazed over my nipples.

"Fuc-",

He pushed his lips against mine. I hungrily accepted the rough, deep kiss. He was the first to break away. Panting in effort to bring air back into my lungs, I nuzzled my head into his collar.

"Larten", I moaned, the sound slightly muffled.

Still holding me, he reached down and picked up my shirt. Sitting me on his coffin, he slid my arms into the sleeves. Kneeling down, he started to button it up. Finishing, he placed a hand on my neck and put his forehead on my right cheek.

"I have never regretted blooding you", he said huskily.

I shivered in response to his warm breathe on my face. Sliding down, I sighed regretfully.

"I can't be caught sleeping in here".

I made my way towards the door. Catching my hand, he pulled me in for one last kiss.

I moved silently through the camp grounds, keeping my footsteps as quiet as possible. The sunrise was breaking over the mountains. I hopped up the caravan steps and put my hands on the door handle.

"Darren, a second?", Mr Tall's voice came from over my shoulder.

Oh shit. He knows what I did in his caravan.

Grimacing, I turned to face him.

"Larten never could button up shirts", he smiled, gesturing to my mismatched buttons.

Blushing, I clumsily fixed them and awkwardly thanked him. Somehow I knew I wouldn't be getting sleep anytime soon.


End file.
